BER Performance of Uplink Massive MIMO With Low-Resolution ADCs

Massive multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) is a promising technology for next generation wireless communication systems (5G). In this technology, Base Station (BS) is equipped with a large number of antennas. Employing high resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) for all antennas may cause high costs and high power consumption for the BS. By performing numerical results, we evaluate the use of low-resolution ADCs for uplink massive MIMO by analyzing Bit Error Rate (BER) performance for different detection techniques (MMSE, ZF) and different modulations (QPSK, 16-QAM) to find an optimal quantization resolution. Our results reveal that the BER performance of uplink massive MIMO systems with a few-bit resolution ADCs is comparable to the case of having full precision ADCs. We found that the optimum choice of quantization level (number of bits in ADCs) depends on the modulation technique and the number of antennas at the BS.Comment: 4 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in iccke 201

Seroepidemiological detection of antibodies against Leptospira spp using microscopic agglutination test in Urmia cows and sheep

The study was designed to determine the level of incidence, titer and various serovars of leptospira in 203 cows and 166 sheep at Urmia abattoir in 2011. Blood samples were collected during the slaughter of animals and sera were separated to evaluate the serological reaction to Leptospira spp by Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) using live antigens representing Leptospira interrogans serogroups: pomona, grippotyphosa, canicola, hardjo, icterrohaemoragiae, and ballum. Overall, 36% of cows and 19.3% of sheep including 33.8% of bulls, 40.5% of female cows, 18.3% of rams and 25% of ewes had a positive reaction to at least one of the leptospira serovars. The most prevalent serovars in cows were pomona (22.7%), grippotyphosa (13.8%), and hardjo (8.4%), and in sheep were grippotyphosa (66.7%), pomona (26.2%) and canicola (7.1%). Other serovars were not detected in cows and sheep. The most prevalent serological titers of 1:100 and 1:200 in cows was 18.2% and 26.6%, and for sheep were 13.5% and 8%, respectively, and of 1:400 in sheep was 2.3%. Cows with a positive reaction to one, two and three serovars were 28.6%, 5.9%, and 1.5% and sheep positive to one and two serovars were 13.3% and 6%, respectively. Age comparison in seropositive cows and sheep showed a significantly increased infection (p<0.05) from young to adult ruminants, while no differences were seen regarding gender. The main mixed serovars were between grippotyphosa/pomona, grippotyphosa/canicola and canicola/pomona. The gender comparison of the serovars' distribution revealed that the pomona and grippotyphosa were predominant among other leptospiral serovars in cows and sheep, respectively. In conclusion, the rate of leptospirosis in Urmia cows was about 2 fold in sheep. The most current serovars in cows and sheep were pomona and grippotyphosa, respectively. The majority of animals was infected with one serovar, but polyserovars, are also possible. The highest titer (1:200) was observed in cows and 1:400 in sheep. There was no gender difference, but age was significant between cows and sheep. Finally, leptospirosis as a zoonotic disease must be seriously considered in Urmia cows rather than in sheep, and therefore, a serious effort must be made to reduce the rate of serological infection and the risk of public health, as well

Genetic relationships among collections of the Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus, in the south Caspian Sea detected by mitochondrial DNA–Restriction fragment length polymorphisms

In the present study, mitochondrial DNA polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) assay was used to assess the population structure and genetic relationships among six Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus populations from the south Caspian Sea along the Iranian coast. The complete nucleotide dehydrogenase subunit 5 (NADH 5) region of mtDNA amplified by PCR was digested with five restriction enzymes. In total, 154 individuals from six populations including: Guilan (Zone1-2), Mazandaran (Zone 3 and 5), Golestan (Zone 4) and Sefidroud River, from the south Caspian Sea along the Iranian coast were analyzed using five restriction endonucleases (Rsa І, Hinf І, HaeIII, Mbo І and Cfr13І), yielding 17 haplotypes. Samples from Sefidroud River were clearly identified by cluster and molecular variance model (AMOVA) analyses. This collection showed dominant haplotypes that were little in populations from the other geographic areas. The mean haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity (π) were 0.739±0.038 and 0.0105±0.0043, respectively. Based on heterogeneity test haplotype frequencies of Persian sturgeon populations and Monte-Carlo with 1000 replicates in PCR-RFLP method significant differences were seen (χ2 =37.12, P< 0.0001) and these results showed that haplotype distribution in different location were significant and populations of Sefidroud River were statistically significant (P< 0.0001). This result suggests that the unique genetic structure of Sefidroud River represents a highly valuable genetic resource and should now be treated as demographically independent and managed separately

Genetic diversity in the Persian sturgeon, Acipenser percicus, from the south Caspian Sea based on mitochondrial DNA sequences of the control region

The Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus (Borodin, 1897), is an economically important species, which mainly inhabits the Caspian Sea. However, little is known about its population genetic structure. In this study, variation in nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region of wild stock Persian sturgeon was determined to assess the genetic diversity among different natural populations of this species. The fish (n = 46) were collected from four sites (Astara, Sefidrood, Noshahr and BandareTurkaman) in the south Caspian Sea. As a result 6 haplotypes and 44 variable sites were found. The average haplotype diversity (h) and nucleotide diversity (π) were 0.640±0.028 and 0.0442±0.011, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) demonstrated that most variations occurred within samples, and the difference between the populations from Astara and Noshahr or Bandare- Turkaman was not significant (p <0.001). Estimates of gene flow indicated reproductive isolation between the Sefidrood River population and the other collections. The divergence might be related to geographical isolation. The results are consistent with the findings from PCR-RFLP analysis (PCR-RFLP) and suggest considerable genetic diversity of the population from Sefidrood River

Effects of starvation and re-feeding on some hematological and plasma biochemical parameters of juvenile Persian sturgeon, Acipenser persicus Borodin, 1897

The effect of starvation and re-feeding was investigated on growth, hematology and biochemical parameters in juvenile Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus). Three hundred and seventy five fish (108±0.63 g) were divided into five feeding groups. The control group (C) was fed to satiation three times a day during the experiment. The four groups were starved for 1 (W1), 2 (W2), 3 (W3), and 4 (W4) weeks respectively, and then fed to satiation during a 4 week re-feeding period. The results indicated that some parameters including final weight, specific growth rate ,body weight increase, plasma enzymes (ALT, Alanine aminotransferase, AST, Aspartat aminotransferase and ALP, Alkaline phosphatise, hematological parameters [Mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH)]were significantly affected by feeding regimes. The plasma cortisol, hematocrit, lymphocytes, neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes were not affected by starvation and subsequent re-feeding. These findings showed that short term starvations had no significant negative effects on growth performance, most biochemical and hematological parameters in Persian sturgeon could recover when re-feeding resumed

Genetic analysis of pike-perch, Sander lucioperca L., populations revealed by microsatellite DNA markers in Iran

This study was conducted in order to investigate genetic diversity and population structure of pike perch in the Northern part of Iran. For this purpose, 207 adult pike-perches from four regions of the Caspian Sea watershed (Talesh Coasts, Anzali Wetland, Chaboksar Coasts and Aras Dam) were collected. DNA was extracted and by using 15 pairs of microsatellite primers, Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was conducted. DNA bands were analyzed using Biocapt and GenAlex 6 software package. Out of 15 microsatellite primers, 11 loci were produced, of those, 6 loci were polymorphic and 5 were monomorphic. Analysis revealed that the average number of alleles per locus and observed heterozygosities were not statistically significant (P>0.05) for all four populations. Data indicated an appreciable genetic differentiation, in spite of a low genetic variation, and agreed with the low level of genetic polymorphism already observed for this species in Iran. Deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was obvious in most cases, mostly due to the deficiency of heterozygosities. The highest genetic distance was between Anzali Wetland and Aras Dam populations. This investigation represents the first approach to the knowledge of the genetic variability of Iranian populations using microsatellite markers, and reported results could be of interest for future management and conservation programs of this species in Iran

Population genetic structure of Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) between South Caspian Sea and Sefidrud River using DNA sequencing method

The goal of this study was to analyse the population genetic structure of the Persian sturgeon (Acipenser persicus) between South Caspian Sea and Sefidrud River with mtDNA control region (Dloop gene) and DNA sequencing method during 2010 – 2012 sturgeon stock assessment project. Fish speciemns were collected by bottom trawl net. Extraction of DNA, PCR and DNA sequencing were carried out. Diversity index, the gamma distribution shape parameter for the rate heterogeneity among sites and nucleotide sequence, Fst index, exact test, the historical demographic pattern using neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analysis (D test of Tajima and Fs test of Fu) were analysed. Thirteen haplotypes were obtained, average (±SD) for haplotype diversity was 0.961 ± 0.101, nucleotide diversity was 0.038 ± 0.015, the gamma distribution shape parameter was 0.19, Fst index revealed little genetic structure between populations and the significant Fst value was seen by 10000 permutation only between Sefidrud River and Other Areas (P≤ 0.05) and was confirmed by exact test of population differentiation. Mismatch distribution for Acipenser persicus appeared to be unimodal, which closely matched the expected distributions under the sudden expansion model and supported by the low Harpending’s Raggedness index (0.061). Tajima’s D and Fu’s Fs statistics were -0.84 and - 0.220, respectively, and was not significant. The results of this study showed that the population of Acipenser persicus in Sefidrud River were genetically differentiated from South Caspian Sea and three other areas represented a single panmictic populations. Therefore, fisheries managements of this valuable species should be directed towards conservation of gene pools and increasing different populations

Is corporate social responsibility always a function of good management?

The debate on the relationship between business and society is an issue of practical importance and theoretical interest. This paper discusses the perspectives on the social responsibilities of organisations to indicate the diversity of approaches to the legitimacy and the boundaries of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices. Classical Theories of Social Responsibility, The Stakeholder Theory, The Social Demandingness Theory, and The Social Activist Theory are critiqued. Finally, major arguments behind the social responsibility theories are discussed and an ethical relativism framework is proposed to assess the morality and the legitimacy of CSR practices. Keywords: Corporate social responsibility; philantrophy; relativism; management; stakeholde